Bilt credit card that lets you earn 1% on rent payments

[EliteZags]

https://bilt.page/r/29WJ-CUD1


been using this credit card that lets you send rent checks to landlord to earn 1% back on rent payments (in points)
you open the Bilt card which is a Wells Fargo credit card acct, then the app lets you mail a monthly rent check to landlord the same way you would do it through a checking account with online billpay (with no transaction fees). The rent amount can either be placed on a credit charge and paid on the monthly due date, or drawn directly from your own bank acct without being counted towards the card's monthly credit limit.
Also if your landlord has an online portal that lets you set up direct payment through checking account, the Bilt app can provide a routing number to fulfill payment that way as well.
The only requirement to earning the 1pt/$1 rent is using the card at least 5 times in a month (can be small Amazon credit reloads, $1 gas pumps etc)

points are worth <$0.01 when redeeming for cash, occasional promos give you $0.01/pt for Amazon credit, but the real value is redeeming on travel, where you can usually get at least $0.012/pt on flights (20% discount from airline prices)

my rent is >$4K and I've already cashed in pts from just this year on a round trip cross country flight with pts to spare, so well worth getting the card if you're paying significant rent and earning a flight or two a year with hardly any effort for what you're paying each month anyways

they also have monthly promos for free points, 2x points on all spend on 1st of each month, and other random benefits


Card Details:
Earn 1X points on rent payments without the transaction fee, 2X points on travel, 3X points on dining, and 1X points on other purchases. Earn points when you make 5 transactions that post each statement period.
No Annual Fee
No foreign currency conversion fee
Trip cancellation and protection
Trip delay reimbursement
Auto rental collision damage
Theft and damage protection
Cell phone protection
WorldElite Mastercard Concierge
Lyft credits
DoorDash credits

[NotJen]

Is that a referral link?  What benefits do you get from referrals?

I (unfortunately) missed this post back in November, but thinking of signing up today.

[bacchi]

Another way to afford round trip cross country flights is to pay $2000/month in rent instead of $4000/month.

[Dicey]

Another way to afford round trip cross country flights is to pay $2000/month in rent instead of $4000/month.

Lol, $4k/month in Newport Beach probably ain't living too large. The proper mustachian response is to move, but NB is kind of a paradise.

[NotJen]

Yeah, I'm sure the OP chose higher rent for the credit card rewards.

Getting a small reward for paying an expense you normally would seems pretty mustachian to me.  I'm not really sure why I didn't look into this sooner.

[obstinate]

You (probably) can't actually pay your rent with this cc. Also pretty sure undisclosed referral links aren't allowed here.

[NotJen]

You (probably) can't actually pay your rent with this cc. Also pretty sure undisclosed referral links aren't allowed here.

Why do you say that?

[EliteZags]

you initiate the payment through the app and Bilt mails your landlord a physical check, then charges the funds to the credit card and waiving what would normally be a 3% fee to pay this way, this also essentially delays the payment due date up a month so I'm keeping an extra 4 figures earning ~5%/yr in money market

I rent out 2 of 3 rooms in a beach house so I'm only paying ~$1200/month but since I handle the rent payments I get 1% back on the full rent amount this way


though seems this place is more interested in funner ways to save a few bucks a month like freezing inside your house and not bathing

[obstinate]

You (probably) can't actually pay your rent with this cc. Also pretty sure undisclosed referral links aren't allowed here.

Why do you say that?

Because landlords aren't usually in the habit of taking credit cards when paying rent. If they do, they normally pass the fee on to you, which eliminates the whole idea behind using the card in the first place. I see that the claim to mail a check on your behalf, but you have to make sure to make five other purchases with it. And the rewards are worse than competing cards.

Just seems iffy to me.

[NotJen]

You (probably) can't actually pay your rent with this cc. Also pretty sure undisclosed referral links aren't allowed here.

Why do you say that?

Because landlords aren't usually in the habit of taking credit cards when paying rent. If they do, they normally pass the fee on to you, which eliminates the whole idea behind using the card in the first place. I see that the claim to mail a check on your behalf, but you have to make sure to make five other purchases with it. And the rewards are worse than competing cards.

Just seems iffy to me.

Actually, my last 2 landlords DO happily take credit cards, but there is a 3+% fee, which I refuse to pay.

Bilt also gives you an ACH routing number.  I've successfully added it to my rent payment portal, and will see what happens May 1. 

I agree it seems slightly iffy, but the risk to me is only a hard pull on my credit report.  If it doesn't work, I'll "sock drawer" the card.  The upside if it works is ~1600 United miles (probably) each month for a necessary payment that usually gets me zero rewards.

The 5 transactions requirement is annoying - usually I don't sign up for things with this requirement, but made an exception here.  I walk to my grocery store on a near-daily basis.  Using self-checkout, I can charge 50cents worth of bananas or 99cents of rescue produce with little hassle.  So I'm not losing out on better rewards using other cards for my normal purchases.

The card was supposed to be active immediately, but mine wasn't.  I complained, because I intended to pay rent with it on April 1.  They said they would give me the points if I sent them a screenshot of my rental payment, and they did.

[eyesonthehorizon]

Do the check or ACH rent transactions count towards the minimum six per cycle? I wouldn’t be surprised if not because they often get a flat charge per swipe, hence activity minimums. A check draft isn’t paying them that.

Such minimum transaction requirements have stopped me using similar products before because the extra cash wasn’t worth manufacturing enough spending. Mustachian people problem, but 1% of my housing expenses would barely break even with another six transactions per month, & 2-4% on everything else through other cards currently outweighs switching my recurring transactions over.

Now… if I could use that ACH number to pay off those other cards, & that counted towards the six, maybe we’d be talking.

[NotJen]

Do the check or ACH rent transactions count towards the minimum six per cycle? I wouldn’t be surprised if not because they often get a flat charge per swipe, hence activity minimums. A check draft isn’t paying them that.

Such minimum transaction requirements have stopped me using similar products before because the extra cash wasn’t worth manufacturing enough spending. Mustachian people problem, but 1% of my housing expenses would barely break even with another six transactions per month, & 2-4% on everything else through other cards currently outweighs switching my recurring transactions over.

Now… if I could use that ACH number to pay off those other cards, & that counted towards the six, maybe we’d be talking.

Yes, rent payments are supposed to count as one of the 5 minimum transactions.  Since the ACH will still ultimately result in a charge to the credit card, I think it will count.  I will test it next month.  There is a handy counter for the 5 transactions, so no guesswork at the end of the month.

I can make 4-5 transactions easily for under $5.  With normal, not increased spend.  Losing <25 cents worth of rewards to get 1600 points is a trade I'm willing to make.

(I did conveniently forget about the summer when I won't have the grocery avenue, but I'll come up with something - small gas pumps, Amazon reloads if I have to.  Maybe I'll treat myself to a post-hike popsicle.)


No, you can't use the ACH number for anything other than 1 rent payment per month.

[tj]

You (probably) can't actually pay your rent with this cc. Also pretty sure undisclosed referral links aren't allowed here.

Why do you say that?

Because landlords aren't usually in the habit of taking credit cards when paying rent. If they do, they normally pass the fee on to you, which eliminates the whole idea behind using the card in the first place. I see that the claim to mail a check on your behalf, but you have to make sure to make five other purchases with it. And the rewards are worse than competing cards.

Just seems iffy to me.

Actually, my last 2 landlords DO happily take credit cards, but there is a 3+% fee, which I refuse to pay.

Bilt also gives you an ACH routing number.  I've successfully added it to my rent payment portal, and will see what happens May 1. 

I agree it seems slightly iffy, but the risk to me is only a hard pull on my credit report.  If it doesn't work, I'll "sock drawer" the card.  The upside if it works is ~1600 United miles (probably) each month for a necessary payment that usually gets me zero rewards.

The 5 transactions requirement is annoying - usually I don't sign up for things with this requirement, but made an exception here.  I walk to my grocery store on a near-daily basis.  Using self-checkout, I can charge 50cents worth of bananas or 99cents of rescue produce with little hassle.  So I'm not losing out on better rewards using other cards for my normal purchases.

The card was supposed to be active immediately, but mine wasn't.  I complained, because I intended to pay rent with it on April 1.  They said they would give me the points if I sent them a screenshot of my rental payment, and they did.

I would assume that you are renting from corporations rather than individuals if they accept credit card.

[NotJen]

I would assume that you are renting from corporations rather than individuals if they accept credit card.

True.  But I will (probably) never ever charge rent to a credit card.  ACH is the way to go.

From what I've read, the check option seems to work pretty well for people who use it - if I end up in a hand-a-check-to-the-landlord-each-month situation in the future, I'll just have the check mailed to me, and I can hand-deliver.

Like I said, it's pretty low risk - only cost was a hard-pull on my credit.  No annual fee.  I can use it or not as it benefits me.

[tj]

I would assume that you are renting from corporations rather than individuals if they accept credit card.

True.  But I will (probably) never ever charge rent to a credit card.  ACH is the way to go.

From what I've read, the check option seems to work pretty well for people who use it - if I end up in a hand-a-check-to-the-landlord-each-month situation in the future, I'll just have the check mailed to me, and I can hand-deliver.

Like I said, it's pretty low risk - only cost was a hard-pull on my credit.  No annual fee.  I can use it or not as it benefits me.

I just have bill pay send a check to the landlord's address on the lease.  Even when I lived in an ADU in back of a landlord's house, I did that.